what is linga?

[Guest guest]

why are hindus worshipping lingam? what is behind it?

[Guest guest]

 

the linga is the respresentation of the unending, formless nature of God, brought to us in simple form for worship. this is the old worship of shiva and saivites and others use the linga for this worship. it is often misread as simply a 'phallic' symbol, and thus reduced to a lesser meaning. I am no expert on the cult of sivalinga, so i will be brief here, but encourage you to find the assistance of a devotee who knows much more than i about this.

 

Bill

[Tarun]

Something u should only use in Krishna's service.

[Guest guest]

The gift of life is a wonderful gift to be given a married couple.

That thier love has produced a beautiful child which can be trained in Krishna Conscousiness.

Within this material world everything is going the will of Krishna but by His agents .

As Krishna Glances at Material Engery Durga She begin Produceing this material world and She is is only under the controll of her Husband Lord Siva.

So for those devottees whom are seeing this world as only

the manifestations of Goddess Durga and Lord Siva"s engery they worship them in this way as the creators of and controllers of the Maiteral engery.

Lord Shiva is often worshipped by young women for nice husband and healthy children.

Within Vedic culture this has been the traditon and was the tradition at the time of Lord Chaitanya Deva also

There is a very sweet Leela of Lord Gouranga observing the young village girls worshipping Lord Shiva and the taking thier offerings and tellling them they needed to Worship Him or he would make sure that they would never get good husbands.

[Pritesh01]

SHIVA LINGA

The meaning of the word Linga is that which indicates. The Shiva Linga that is visible after the installation is the top one third and the other two third forms the base.

The first one third of the base stands for Brahma - the aspect of creation in the cosmos. As the creation brings things into the existance, naturally the process is directed outward (i.e. towards the object of creation). Since the creation is going on endlessly, the four directions represent this concept. One can move in each direction without reaching the end. This aspect of the Lord is called Brahma - the Lord as the Creator and is represnted by the square cross section standing for four directions.

The middle one third represents Vishnu - the one that pervades everything in the creation. The four directions and four corners totalling to eight along with up and down directions cover everything and it is indicated by the octagonal middle cross section.

The top one third represnts the Shiva aspect by the circular cross section indicating the Limitlessness. Though there are three aspects indicated, the Shiva Linga is one alone and when worshiped all three inseparable aspects are worshiped.

Thus SHIVA and VISHNU are no two different entities!! It is one Limitlessness viewed from different aspects so mind has a direction to contemplate. Vishnu is also worshipped and invoked in the form of Shaligrama (a spherical shape) standing for the Limitlessness as so is Shiva...

Since this information and understanding is not known as a common knowledge, the Cleveland Shiva Vishnu temple is very happy to share it.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Guest guest]

Linga is the representation of male sex organ

 

The distinctive sign through which it is possible to recognize the nature of someone is called a linga." (Shiva Purana)

"Shiva is signless (sexless), without color, taste or smell, beyond word and touch, without quality, changeless, motionless." (Linga Purana)

This unmanifest being can be perceived only through his creation, which is his sign or linga. The existence of the unqualified substratum is known and

worshiped only through this sign. The linga or the phallus, the giver of life is one of the shapes which represents the nature of the shapless.

"Shiva as the undivided causal principle is worshiped in the linga. His more manifest aspects are represented in anthropomorphic images. All other deities are part of a multiplicity and are thus worshiped as images."

(Karapatri, "Shri Shiva Tattva", Siddhanta).

 

"The symbol of the Supreme Man (purusha), the formless, the changeless, the all-seeing eye, is the symbol of masculinity, the phallus or linga. The symbol of the power that is Nature, generatrix of all that exists is the female organ, the yoni." (Karapatri, "Lingopasana-rahasya", Siddhanta)

 

WORSHIP OF THE LINGA

 

It is through the mastery of sex that we become powerful in the physical as well as the mental sphere. It is through the union of sexes that new beings, new lives come into existence. This union is thus the link between two worlds, the point where life manifests itself, and where the divine

spirit becomes incarnate.

 

"Those who do not recognize the divine nature of the phallus, who do not measure the importance of the sex ritual, who consider the act of love as

low or contemptible or as a mere physical function, are bound to fail in their attempts at physical as well as spiritual acheivement. To ignore the

sacredness of the linga is dangerous, whereas through its worship the joy of life (bhukti) and the joy of liberation (mukti) are obtained." (Karapatri, "Lingopasana-rahasya".)

 

 

 

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[I_love_krishna_]

linga=penis in sanskrit.

 

In Kamasutra it is mentioned that linga is penis and Yoni is Vagina.

 

I have also read the book where the trinities , brahma, vishnu and parameshwar are given a curse...

 

According to shiva's curse, the people will worship only his linga, not himself.

 

I also read that Shiva is also the God of fertility and Parvati is the Goddess of fertility. So, the worship of linga is the worship of the auspicious union between shiva and parvati.

[Guest guest]

That's very bad. Kama sutra is not a book for Krishna devotees, but for mundane material people /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[I_love_krishna_]

/images/graemlins/blush.gif I read it by mistake...lol it was interesting. /images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

Oh Man! those imperfect senses /images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

How i hate them!

[mathuradasksb]

The non antrhropomorphic Lingam form of Shiva is what is held in reverence in temples all over the sub continent. The Lingam is a symbol. It is a symbol of that which is invisible yet omnipresent. It is hence a a visible symbol of the Ultimate Reality which is present in us (and in all objects of creation ).

 

The Shivalingam denotes the primeval energy of the Creator.It is believed that at the end of all creation, during the great deluge, all of the different aspects of God find a resting place in the Lingam; Bhrama is absorbed into the right, Vishnu to the left and Gayatri into the heart. The Shivalingam is also a representation of the infinite Cosmic Column of fire, whose origins, Vishnu and Bhrama were unable to trace. (see Lingodbhavar).

 

Legend has it that Parvati fashioned a Shivalingam with a fistful of sand at Kanchipuram and worshipped Shiva; this lingam is known as the Prithvilingam, denoting the primordial element earth. Shivalingams in several temples are swayambus, or that which appeared on their own, or that which is untouched by a chisel. On the other hand, there are temples where the Shivalingam is carved out of stone and installed. The highly polished Shivalingams of the Pallava period bear several stripes, as in the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram.

 

The Shivalingam is generally mounted on a circular or quadrangular receptacle called the Avudaiyar. This pedestal is designed so as to drain off the water offered during ablution ceremonies. In temples such as Kanchipuram, abhishekam is offered only to the pedestal and not to the Shivalingam made of sand. The bottom of the pedestal represents Bhrama, the octogonal middle represents Vishnu and the upper circular portion represents Shiva. The upper portion of the Shivalingam may be of various shapes, cylindrical, elliptical, umbrella shaped. Images may also be (rarely) carved on a Shivalingam.

 

Nandi, the bull is depicted facing the sanctum in all Saivite temples, symbolizing the human soul Jeevatma yearning for realizing its oneness with Paramatma, the ultimate reality.

 

Typically, the processional bronze images of Shiva are those of Somaskanda, Chandrasekhara, Bhikshatana and Nataraja. Although in most Shiva temples, the central shrine enshrining the Shivalingam is of the greatest importance, the Nataraja shrine is of greater importance at Chidambaram, the Somaskandar - Tyagarajar shrine is of greater significance at Tiruvarur.

 

 

[I_love_krishna_]

I didn't know it had so much significance.

 

Thank you for such a beautiful reply. /images/graemlins/smile.gif